# 清楚
## Chinese
### Etymology

(pure; innocent): Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 清(せい)楚(そ) (seiso)

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): qīngchu, qīngchǔ
    (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄥ ˙ㄔㄨ, ㄑㄧㄥ ㄔㄨˇ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): cing$^1$ co$^2$
* Hakka (Sixian, PFS): chhîn-chhú
* Eastern Min (BUC): chĭng-chū
* Southern Min
    (Hokkien, POJ): chheng-chhó / chheng-chhó͘
    (Teochew, Peng'im): cêng$^1$ co$^2$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: qīngchu
*** Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄥ ˙ㄔㄨ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: cingchů
*** Wade–Giles: chʻing$^1$-chʻu$^5$
*** Yale: chīng-chu
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ching.chu
*** Palladius: цинчу (cinču)
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu²/
** (Standard Chinese, standard in Taiwan, variant in Mainland)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: qīngchǔ
*** Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄥ ㄔㄨˇ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: cingchǔ
*** Wade–Giles: chʻing$^1$-chʻu$^3$
*** Yale: chīng-chǔ
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chingchuu
*** Palladius: цинчу (cinču)
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: cing$^1$ co$^2$
*** Yale: chīng chó
*** Cantonese Pinyin: tsing$^1$ tso$^2$
*** Guangdong Romanization: qing$^1$ co$^2$
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ t͡sʰɔː³⁵/
* Hakka
** (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhîn-chhú
*** Hakka Romanization System: qin$^ˊ$ cu$^ˋ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: qin$^1$ cu$^3$
*** Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰin²⁴ t͡sʰu³¹/
* Eastern Min
** (Fuzhou)
*** Bàng-uâ-cê: chĭng-chū
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰiŋ⁵⁵⁻⁵³ $^{(t͡sʰ-)}$ʒu³³/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chheng-chhó
*** Tâi-lô: tshing-tshó
*** Phofsit Daibuun: zhengzhoir
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sʰɤ⁴¹/
*** IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sʰo⁵³/
*** IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² t͡sʰo⁵³/
** (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, variant in Taiwan, Singapore)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chheng-chhó͘
*** Tâi-lô: tshing-tshóo
*** Phofsit Daibuun: zhengzhor
*** IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sʰɔ⁵³/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰiɪŋ³³ t͡sʰɔ⁵⁵⁴/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sʰɔ⁴¹/
*** IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² t͡sʰɔ⁵³/
*** IPA (Singapore): /t͡sʰeŋ⁴⁴⁻²² t͡sʰɔ⁴²/
** (Teochew)
*** Peng'im: cêng$^1$ co$^2$
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsheng tshó
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰeŋ³³⁻²³ t͡sʰo⁵²/

### Adjective

清楚
* clear; lucid
* clear (about a matter); unambiguous
* plain; distinct; obvious
* (obsolete or Eastern Min) tidy; neat; refined
* (ACG, neologism, of a person) pure; innocent

#### Usage notes

* Used often in a figurative sense (e.g. to be clear on a matter), rather than in a literal sense. For the literal clear (e.g. clear water), see 清澈 (qīngchè).

#### Synonyms

* (clear): 清朗 (qīnglǎng), (Wu) 清爽
* (plain):
* 分明 (fēnmíng)
* 分曉 / 分晓 (fēnxiǎo)
* 明白
* 明瞭 / 明了 (míngliǎo)
* 明確 / 明确 (míngquè)
* 清晰 (qīngxī)
* 清朗 (qīnglǎng)
* 疏朗 (shūlǎng) (literary)
* 鮮明 / 鲜明 (xiānmíng)

#### Antonyms

* 糊塗／糊涂 (hútu)

### Adverb

清楚
* clearly
    聽不清楚／听不清楚 ― tīng bù qīngchǔ ― unable to hear clearly
       Xuéxí hànyǔ fāyīn yīdìng yào fēn qīngchǔ diàolèi. [Pinyin]
       It is essential to distinguish different tones when studying Chinese.
       Jìrán nǐmen dōu yǐjīng xiǎng qīngchu le, nà wǒ zūnjìng nǐmen de yìyuàn. [Pinyin]
       Considering you have all thought it through, I will respect your wishes.
       Nǐ liǎojiě de hěn quánmiàn, jiǎngshù de yě hěn qīngchǔ. [Pinyin]
       You have a comprehensive understanding and can explain it clearly.
* until a matter is clear (making sense, unambiguous, etc.)
    說清楚／说清楚 ― shuōqīngchǔ ― to make something clear

### Verb

清楚
* to understand; to know; to comprehend
       Nǐ shì yīge shénmeyàng de rén, wǒ bǐ shéi dōu qīngchu. [Pinyin]
       I know better than anyone else what kind of person you are.
       Zhè jù huà de dàolǐ nǐ yīnggāi qīngchǔ. [Pinyin]
       You should understand the principle contained in this sentence.

#### Synonyms

* 了解 (liǎojiě)
* 佔有 / 占有 (zhànyǒu)
* 分曉 / 分晓 (fēnxiǎo)
* 參悟 / 参悟 (cānwù)
* 悟 (wù) (literary, or in compounds)
* 懂 (dǒng)
* 懂得 (dǒngde)
* 打生 (Wenzhounese)
* 把握 (bǎwò)
* 掌握 (zhǎngwò)
* 明 (ming$^4$) (Cantonese)
* 明白
* 明瞭 / 明了 (míngliǎo)
* 曉得 / 晓得 (xiǎode)
* 會悟 / 会悟 (huìwù) (literary)
* 洞悉 (dòngxī)
* 清亮 (mainland China)
* 熟似 (Hokkien)
* 熟悉 (shúxī)
* 熟稔 (shúrěn) (literary)
* 熟識 / 熟识 (shúshí)
* 理會 / 理会 (lǐhuì)
* 理解 (lǐjiě)
* 瞭悟 / 了悟 (liǎowù) (literary)
* 知影 (Hokkien, Teochew)
* 知悉 (zhīxī) (literary)
* 知曉 / 知晓 (zhīxiǎo)
* 知識 / 知识 (zhīshí) (literary)
* 知道 (zhīdào)
* 覺 / 觉
* 覺悟 / 觉悟 (juéwù)
* 覺醒 / 觉醒 (juéxǐng)
* 認識 / 认识
* 諳曉 / 谙晓 (ānxiǎo) (literary)
* 諳達 / 谙达 (āndá) (literary)
* 貫通 / 贯通 (guàntōng)
* 通曉 / 通晓 (tōngxiǎo)
* 通解 (tōngjiě) (literary)
* 通達 / 通达 (tōngdá)
* 達 / 达 (literary, or in compounds)
* 醒悟 (xǐngwù)
* 開悟 / 开悟 (kāiwù) (literary)
* 領悟 / 领悟 (lǐngwù)
* 領會 / 领会 (lǐnghuì)
* 領略 / 领略 (lǐnglüè)

### Derived terms

* 一清二楚 (yīqīng'èrchǔ)
* 弄清楚
* 搞清楚
* 清清楚楚 (qīngqīngchǔchǔ)
* 說清楚 / 说清楚

### Descendants

* → Japanese: 清(せい)楚(そ) (seiso)
* → Korean: 청초하다(清楚) (cheongchohada)

### Further reading

* “Entry #50095”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.

## Japanese

Kanji in this term :
| 清 | 楚 |
| せい Grade: 4 | そ Jinmeiyō |
| on'yomi ||
* Alternative spelling
* 淸楚 (kyūjitai)

### Adjective

清(せい)楚(そ) • (seiso) -na (adnominal 清(せい)楚(そ)な (seiso na), adverbial 清(せい)楚(そ)に (seiso ni))
* neat and clean
* tidy; trim

#### Inflection

Stem forms :
| Imperfective (未然形) | 清楚だろ | せいそだろ | seiso daro |
| Continuative (連用形) | 清楚で | せいそで | seiso de |
| Terminal (終止形) | 清楚だ | せいそだ | seiso da |
| Attributive (連体形) | 清楚な | せいそな | seiso na |
| Hypothetical (仮定形) | 清楚なら | せいそなら | seiso nara |
| Imperative (命令形) | 清楚であれ | せいそであれ | seiso de are |
| Key constructions ||||
| Informal negative | 清楚ではない 清楚じゃない | せいそではない せいそじゃない | seiso de wa nai seiso ja nai |
| Informal past | 清楚だった | せいそだった | seiso datta |
| Informal negative past | 清楚ではなかった 清楚じゃなかった | せいそではなかった せいそじゃなかった | seiso de wa nakatta seiso ja nakatta |
| Formal | 清楚です | せいそです | seiso desu |
| Formal negative | 清楚ではありません 清楚じゃありません | せいそではありません せいそじゃありません | seiso de wa arimasen seiso ja arimasen |
| Formal past | 清楚でした | せいそでした | seiso deshita |
| Formal negative past | 清楚ではありませんでした 清楚じゃありませんでした | せいそではありませんでした せいそじゃありませんでした | seiso de wa arimasen deshita seiso ja arimasen deshita |
| Conjunctive | 清楚で | せいそで | seiso de |
| Conditional | 清楚なら（ば） | せいそなら（ば） | seiso nara (ba) |
| Provisional | 清楚だったら | せいそだったら | seiso dattara |
| Volitional | 清楚だろう | せいそだろう | seiso darō |
| Adverbial | 清楚に | せいそに | seiso ni |
| Degree | 清楚さ | せいそさ | seisosa |

### Noun

清(せい)楚(そ) • (seiso)
* neatness and cleanliness
* tidiness

#### Descendants

* → English: seiso

### References

* Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
* Kitahara, Yasuo, editor (2002), 明鏡国語辞典 [Meikyō Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Taishūkan Shoten, →ISBN
* 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.